Three Huskers Advance to Big Ten Finals

Minneapolis, Minn. - The No. 10 Nebraska men's gymnastics team struggled to gain their footing Friday night in the team and all-around finals of the Big Ten Championships. The Huskers finished with a team score of 416.250, their lowest of the season.

NU started off the night on high bar, where they struggled to break 14.00. Sophomore Louis Klein lead the team, posting a 14.35. The Utica, Mich., native tied for sixth overall on the event, pushing him into the event finals Saturday. The team finished with a total of 69.200, tying for fourth with Penn State.

The Huskers then moved to floor, where they regained some confidence. Klein (14.20) as well as juniors Wyatt Aycock (14.15) and Mark Ringle (14.40) helped pull up the team after a rough start. Reigning All-American Grant Perdue finished off the event for the Huskers with a strong routine, earning a 15.50. The sophomore finished off the night tied for first with Michigan's Stacey Ervin, advancing him to the individual event finals.

Nebraska then faced a bye rotation. After their bye, the Huskers moved to pommel horse. NU faced their most difficult horse set of the season, earning an unremarkable 61.450.

Flustered by their fourth rotation, the Huskers moved to rings, where they regained some strength. Junior specialist Donovan Arndt lead Nebraska with a 14.75, just barely missing the cut for individual event finals. Sophomore Robbie Kocks followed close behind, earning a 14.70. The Huskers finished with a team score of 71.200, beating out Ohio State by 2.75 points.

NU's sixth rotation - vault - brought the fight back as four of the five gymnasts earned scores above a 14.70 on the event. Sophomore Gabriel Jolley and junior Micah Christensen tied with scores of 14.80, placing them at 13 overall on the event. Perdue entered the night ranked sixth nationally on the event and proved his placement. He earned a 15.05 on his vault, placing him at eighth overall and moving him into the finals.

Nebraska finished the night on parallel bars, similar to their last regular season meet against reigning NCAA champions, Illinois. Junior all-arounder CJ Schaaf started the final rotation off strong, earning a 14.40 for his routine. Freshman Sam Chamberlain took the lead for the Huskers, posting a 15.00 on the event. The Franklin, Ohio native had entered the night ranked No. 13 nationally and ended up tying for fourth overall. He became the third Husker that would move on to the individual event finals Saturday.

Perdue, Klein and Chamberlain will compete in the Big Ten Championships individual event finals tomorrow at 7 p.m. CST. Day two of the conference championships will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. The remaining Huskers will begin preparing for the NCAA Championships, which will take place at Penn Station, Pa., on April 19-21.